


The Best Things Happen While You're Dancing

by kittensmctavish



Category: BuzzFeed Violet (Short Films), Buzzfeed Tasty: Eating Your Feed (Web Series), Buzzfeed Unsolved (Web Series), Buzzfeed: Worth It (Web Series)
Genre: 5+1 Things, Alternate Universe - High School, Awkward Crush, Bar & Bat Mitzvah, Crush at First Sight, Crushes, Dancing, Don't copy to another site, F/F, F/M, Fake/Pretend Relationship, First Crush, Fluff, Gen, High School, Homecoming Dance, Middle School, No Dialogue, Platonic Relationships, Sadie Hawkins Dance, School Dances, Secret Crush, Skating, Weddings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-20
Updated: 2019-04-20
Packaged: 2020-01-20 16:37:20
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,864
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18528943
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kittensmctavish/pseuds/kittensmctavish
Summary: Five times Adam wanted to ask someone to dance, and one time someone asked him.





	The Best Things Happen While You're Dancing

**Author's Note:**

> this was gonna just have something to do with adam and annie and apple picking. and then it became this.
> 
> it's busy season two: even busier, at work, so my brain is once again soup. so this was knocked out in...like, five hours. so it's not as great as it could be and i'm probably missing tags and there are almost certainly typos but it's JUST IN TIME FOR RARE ADAM WEEK.
> 
> (i'm gonna sleep straight through easter after i post this.) (like jesus, i will sleep for three days before i rise again.)
> 
> title comes from the song of the same name from the movie "white christmas".

**ONE**

Adam’s not really sure what exactly the thing is his parents have taken him to. (Then again, he’s barely two, so how WOULD he know?)

He had to sit in church, which was annoying because it wasn’t the day they NORMALLY went to church. But something clearly Very Important was happening. There was a guy in a nice black version of what Dad normally wore to work. And a beautiful woman in a big fluffy white dress.

Adam doesn’t remember most of what happened at church because it was mostly boring. Not to mention the guy who talks all the time at church and makes Adam fall asleep did a lot of the talking. So Adam was dozing most of the time.

But now he’s in a big fancy room. There’s a giant white cake on a big table. And everyone is dressed very nice and drinking fizzy grape juice Adam’s not allowed to drink. Music is playing, and Adam doesn’t know what it is, but people are dancing and smiling.

Adam’s mom is talking to the guy in the nice black suit, and his dad is dancing with the lady who works in the nursery. And the dancing looks like fun. And Adam thinks he wants to dance.

He looks around for someone to dance with, since Mom is busy talking. He sees the pretty lady in the big fluffy white dress. She’s standing near the guy in black, but doesn’t look busy. And she’s pretty.

Adam walks over to the pretty lady and reaches for some of the white fluff of her dress. It’s a scratchier fluff than he thought, but he tugs hard enough for the pretty lady to notice him. She smiles down at him, and he reaches up for her hand. When he’s got his hand wrapped around one of her fingers, he steps backwards, towards the dance floor, trying to tug her along with him. She laughs, but doesn’t move. Adam tugs a little harder.

Then his mom is right there, gently taking his hand away from pretty lady’s hand. He considers crying at first, because he wants to dance with the pretty lady in white.

But then Mom is scooping him up into her arms and kissing his forehead. And she walks out on to the dance floor and sways him back and forth, singing into his ear. So Adam wraps his arms around his mom’s neck. So he doesn’t get to dance with the pretty lady in white; dancing with his mom is the next best thing.

(His mom, years later, still has video footage of this, and loves to recall the story of toddler Adam trying to dance with the bride at a wedding.) (Adam tries not to sink into the couch when she shows Annie this video. Annie just kisses his cheek and calls him adorable then and now.)

***

**TWO**

In sixth grade gym class, occasionally, they break out the roller skates. Sometimes they play some games, and then some days the gym becomes basically a roller rink.

On the roller rink days, there’s always a couple of songs for what the gym teacher calls a “Snowball”. Basically, everyone rests against the walls, and when the music starts playing, you can skate over to someone and ask them to skate with you. (Boy to boy, girl to girl, boy to girl, girl to boy, just be nice about it.)

Adam tells himself that today, during this particular Snowball, he’s going to finally work up the nerve to ask Kelsey if she wants to skate. Kelsey is tall, blonde, has the prettiest smile, and today is wearing a bubblegum pink dress with sunflowers on it that makes Adam smile. It’s just like her—happy and sunny.

The teacher announces the Snowball, and Adam…waits. There’s always that awkward pause because no one wants to be the first to skate out and ask someone. So he’ll wait until a few people go.

After a moment, a few of his friends skate out to the other side of the gym to talk to either their friends or their crushes. Adam’s about to push himself away from the wall to roll his way over to Kelsey.

But Evan is already there, halting his skates in front of Kelsey, who plays with some of her hair as she smiles up at him before nodding and taking his hand so they can join the circle and skate.

Adam leans back against the wall and sighs a little. You know, given that Kelsey and Evan have skated together for every other Snowball skate, he really shouldn’t be that surprised or disappointed. He knows whatever little tiny crush he has on her is hopeless and will probably just fizzle out with time, or when they don’t share as many classes anymore. Still…

…someone calls his name, and he hears wheels rolling towards him.

It’s Sara. She’s got curly hair, braces, and bruised knees from falling one too many times in these skates. His mom and her mom have been friends for a few years, so he’s known her for about as long. She asks if he can sake with her so she at least has someone to hold on to (or at least drag down with her when she inevitably trips again). He rolls his eyes, but takes her hand.

As she skates into the circle, he almost runs into—and subsequently apologizes to—a girl with short black hair. He’s seen her in his writing class. Can’t remember her name though. Amy or Annie or something like that.

***

**THREE**

Sara’s bat mitzvah goes…mostly over Adam’s head. He knows it’s an important thing for her (and for her parents), though. So like a good friend and…sort-of boyfriend?...he’s there, sitting in the pew, peaching up to make sure his yarmulke is still in place.

He and Sara aren’t so much dating as their moms think it would be cute if they dated.) (Despite the fact that Adam isn’t a “good Jewish boy”. He’s still a good boy, which is good enough for Sara’s mom. So he finds himself at Sara’s house, or Sara at his house, eating dinner and doing homework or watching a movie with her, and the two of them ignore their mothers whispering to each other in the kitchen (and quite possibly planning their wedding for them). Something that he and Sara will look at each other over, and roll their eyes. They don’t NECESSARILY like each other in that way, but it makes their moms happy so…sure.

That said, at the reception for the bat mitzvah, when Adam sits at a table wanting to dance with someone who isn’t his sort-of girlfriend…it makes the whole thing tricky.

Sara doesn’t invite EVERYONE from school. But she invites a few closer friends, and some of their friends. It kind of helps that she wanted her bat mitzvah reception to be reminiscent of the bar mitzvah from “The Wedding Singer”. (In that, she wanted an 80s band to play.) So that drew some people in.

One of the friends in question is Annie, a girl from a few of Adam’s classes, and Sara’s best friend from art class. She’s sitting at a table across the dance floor, watching other people dance. She tucks a strand of hair behind her ear and sips from a cup of punch.

She’s…pretty. Really pretty. Adam’s always thought that since…last year or so, but in her black polka dot dress and soft white cardigan, she’s especially pretty. And he wishes his mom wasn’t such good friends with Sara’s mom. Because then he could maybe walk over and ask Annie if she wanted to dance and not feel guilty about doing so. Even though he and Sara don’t even like each other in that way. But his mom and Sara’s mom would probably be disappointed, so…that’s where the guilt stems from.

And speaking of Sara’s mom…she’s walking over to Adam and fawning over him—to thank him for coming, oh how HANDSOME he looks, he’s growing up to be such a GENTLEMAN. He smiles and nods and murmurs his own thanks. When Sara’s mom reaches a stride where he feels like he can look away for a moment, he catches Sara’s eye. She’s standing near his mom, and she’s probably giving her a similar schpiel. Sara seems to sense that Adam’s looking over at her, because her eye catches his and they share a Look™.

Moms. Right?

He has to look back up at Sara’s mom to nod and thank her again, answer some of her questions about school and such. After another hug and pinch to his cheek, she walks off to talk to someone from Sara’s extended family that Adam’s never met.

He looks back over to where Annie had been sitting. Doesn’t see her.

***

**FOUR**

Freshman year. First school dance. Homecoming.

He and Sara are still sort-of not-really-a-couple. So…they’re kind of obligated to at least go together, take pictures together, yada yada yada.

That said, Sara absolutely will not mind if, when they’re at the dance, Adam wants to maybe ask someone else to dance. (She then fakes a cough that sounds suspiciously like “Annie”. He flicks a pencil at her for that.) Besides, she’s going to bring her camera, maybe take pictures to try and impress the yearbook club.

Adam thanks her for being such an understanding not-a-girlfriend. Says he’ll think about it.

Said thinking-about-it comes to a screeching halt come Monday at lunchtime. Annie tells Sara there’s a guy she’s thinking about asking to Homecoming. They’ve been friends for a little while, and he’s really tall and funny and…he just seems like a great guy to go to a dance with. Sara pats her shoulder and tell Annie to let her know how it goes, maybe they can join her and Adam in a double date. Annie looks over at Adam with a little smile. He nods.

So…there goes that idea. But…it’ll still probably be fun.

The next day, Sara asks Annie how it went. Adam feels bad that he doesn’t feel worse when Annie shrugs her shoulders and tells them the guy said no. He’s actually got something else that night, so he couldn’t go with her even if he wanted to. Sara pouts and gives Annie a hug, tells Adam to give her a hug, too (he glares at her smirking face over Annie’s shoulder as he hugs Annie). She’s still welcome to come with them, if she wants. She’ll think about it.

So…maybe there’s a chance he’ll still get to dance with her.

At least, this is his thought before the weekend. When he bikes over to Sara’s house for a study session (and parks his bike next to another bike) and opens the door to find Sara curled up on the couch, hugging a crying Annie, saying something about someone being scum.

That guy Annie asked? Who was apparently busy? Turns out, he’s going to the dance with someone else. Annie heard word in a group conversation that morning at marching band practice. Annie had to leave early, something about feeling sick, Biked straight over to Sara’s.

Adam’s not a violent guy. He’s not even all that much of a talkative guy.

That said, he’s SUPREMELY glad Sara’s mom isn’t home to hear the thing he calls this guy he’s never even met (but he made Annie cry, so it’s deserved). Same goes for his offer of bodily harm of some fashion to bring down upon him.

Sara gapes at him and middle-name scolds him. But Annie smiles and laughs a little through her tears. She appreciates the offer, but Adam doesn’t need to. The guy REALLYT isn’t worth it.

Sara fiercer in her hugs, assurances that Annie’s amazing and this idiot doesn’t even deserve her, and she and Adam would be better dates for her than anyone else. Annie accepts the hugs, but shakes her head.

She honestly doesn’t even want to go to the stupid dance anymore. She’ll be fine without going. There’ll be other years. Besides…she doesn’t really want to risk running into him and his date.

Adam sits down on the couch next to Annie as Sara pulls her in for the umpteenth hug. He’s not sure if it’s what she wants, given the awful thing a guy just pulled on her…but he pats her shoulder reassuringly. When Sara’s done hugging her, Annie turns towards him and smiles before wrapping her arms around his neck and leaning in close in a hug. He blinks before wrapping his arms loosely around her waist.

Sara smiles at them. Not the smirk like last time. But more like “aw…lookit these cutes huggin’.”

***

**FIVE**

Senior year. Last homecoming.

This year…this year is gonna be the year Adam asks Annie to homecoming. He vowed it to himself at the beginning of the year. Has bided his time, hasn’t wanted to ask her too early. But Annie hasn’t been to a single school dance. Hasn’t wanted do, sometimes couldn’t. This year is her last year. He’s determined. He’s going to ask her.

And he absolutely would have. If it wasn’t for Sara.

So he and Sara have long since “split”. Or at least, their moms aren’t as gung ho about them being a couple and giving them grandchildren as they once were. So THAT’S not the issue.

No, the issue is the new kid, his crush on Sara, and Sara’s obliviousness to said crush.

Kid’s name is Shane, moved from Schaumberg, Illinois, JUST in time to graduate high school. He’s tall. VERY tall. (Not quite as tall as that Garrett kid, but close.) He walked into yearbook club wanting to join, got introduced to Sara, has been heart-eyes for her ever since.

And bless the guy’s little cotton socks, he’s…REALLY not subtle or smooth about it.

Like the time he comes in with extra treats he’d made in foods class (brownies with a gooey fudgy frosting) and, in his eagerness to offer one to Sara, accidentally dropped the plate—and, subsequently, the brownies—on to her open sketchbook. Then apologized over and over for ruining her project for art class.

Or the time he “happened to have” an extra can of soda (Orange CRUSH, no less) and asked Sara if she was thirsty. Only for his smile to wither and die when she told him nah, that’s okay, she doesn’t like orange soda.

But neither of those are why Adam can’t ask Annie to homecoming.

No, this specific occurrence happens near the end of a yearbook club meeting; Sara’s working on possible artwork for the yearbook cover, and Annie and Adam are sitting together at the computer, looking at different yearbook page layouts.

Shane CASUALLY asks Sara (while she’s scribbling away furiously in her sketchbook) if anyone’s asked her to Homecoming yet.

Sara scoffs an “GOD no, are you KIDDING me?” Explains that basically every year, she and Adam go together to take pictures for the yearbook—it’s like their own tradition of sorts; otherwise, the dance itself is a HUGE waste of time. (Yeah…Sara’s disillusionment with school dances knows no bounds.)

And THEN, Sara HAS to drag Adam into it, by looking over at him so he can back her up on this. At least when Shane looks over at him, it’s not with jealousy or…seething rage or anything. (But he can also feel Annie looking at him and she’s tensed a little next to him and god, he just wants to say “no, not this year”.)

But…he’s too much of a coward and he’s too good of a friend to Sara. So he nods and says yeah, that’s basically what they’ve done every year. Not any different this year.

Adam SWEARS he can hear Shane’s heart crack a little bit as he nods and manages an “Okay” before saying something about needing to be…somewhere. (As he leaves, never explaining just WHERE he needs to go, Adam can hear something resembling a “REAL smooth…” or “…stupid, STUPID…”)

 Annie stands up, saying something about forgetting she needed to talk to her music teacher. Offers Adam a smile before she leaves in a much calmer fashion than Shane had. (Maybe Adam imagines the little bit of sadness in her eyes…that little bit of quashed hope he’d just seen in Shane’s…)

Sara’s still looking at her sketchbook when she walks over to Adam for his opinion on her sketch, and Adam’s still looking at where Annie walked out. At his chance having slipped through his fingers again.

Instead of answering her question, he just flat-out asks her if she knows Shane has a crush on her.

Her reaction is such that Adam wordlessly lifts his phone to take a picture of her expression before he leaves the room.

She calls him later that night, demanding to know what he meant by that, NO, Shane doesn’t have a crush on her, where would he GET such an idea?

He responds with that clip from “30 Rock” of Liz Lemon at a bar, shooing a guy away, Jane Krakowski telling her he was going to buy Liz a drink, and Liz obliviously responding with “Really? …I already have a drink, do you think he’d buy me mozzarella sticks?” His message when he sends the clip is “you.”

He almost regrets having told her about Shane’s crush. Almost. Because now they’re BOTH awkward around each other. Sara practically bolting whenever Shane comes into her line of sight, or clamming up whenever Shane tries to talk to her, rather than obliviously shooting him down.

She gives him a thorough talking-to about it at the Homecoming dance proper, when she expresses how somehow glad and NOT glad she is to not see Shane there. And how ever since Adam mentioned Shane’s crush, she can’t stop SEEING it and the STUPID things he does to try and woo her. And now she’s FEELING things and she HATES it because she HATES MUSHINESS and WHY and GOD IF HER MOM FINDS OUT.

(She then shuts up long enough to take pictures of the Homecoming King and Queen—Ryan and Kelsey. The jock and the cheerleader. Of course, they dance together for, like, five seconds before Ryan lets Kelsey go dance with her girlfriend, YB.)

***

**PLUS ONE**

It’s not really a field trip. More like a fun excursion for a bunch of students. Also a good excuse to get some good filler pictures for the yearbook. Also also a good way to miss part of the school day.

It’s mid-October, in that sweet spot between Homecoming and the Sadie Hawkins Dance. The leaves are changing color, and apples are in season. So Adam, Sara, Annie, and Shane are at the apple orchard with a bunch of other students.

Apples are picked. Pumpkins are admired in the patch. There are scarecrows from a contest that Sara’s miffed she never knew about until now, she could blow some of these scarecrows out of the water.

The main objective is apples. Foods class is going to focus on some apple-y confections, so they need to pick a bunch. (Adam snaps this one great picture of Annie holding four apples in her hands. It’s adorable, sweet, lovely.)

Sara keeps her distance from Shane while also not being able to look away from Shane. She keeps reaching into her satchel for something, as if to make sure it’s there. It’s not until near the end of the day, when there’s a little break and everyone’s drinking apple cider, that Sara takes out the thing.

A can of Orange Crush, with a Post-It stuck to it. On the Post-It is scribbled “SADIE HAWKINS DANCE?”

Sara asks Adam if she can give it to Shane for her. Adam glances over at Annie, who raises her eyebrows and tries not to laugh. He sighs and takes the can.

He walks over to Shane, who’s bene arguing with Ryan about the spook season, the existence of ghosts, and which scarecrow is the best (Shane’s winner is the hot dog, Ryan’s is anything BUT the hot dog, more out of spite than anything). The argument comes to a pause as Adam wordlessly hands Shane the can.

Shane turns the can, his eyebrows raising as he reads the Post-It. He’s flattered, but not into guys. Adam almost facepalms, before he points in Sara’s direction. Shane looks over and…makes a confused face. Adam looks over.

Sara’s hiding…sort of…in that she’s got a bucket over her head.

Adam walks over to Sara, takes the bucket off her head, takes her wrist, and walks her over to Shane, telling them to talk to each other like the almost-adults they are. (Ryan has long since decided that he needed to go get more cider and maybe head back towards the bus.)

He walks back over to Annie, grumbling under his breath about these two IDIOTS. Annie’s giggling from behind her hand as Adam approaches, patting his shoulder gently and congratulating him on a job well done.

He turns, wincing at what he’ll see.

Sara and Shane are still standing near each other. Talking. Actually…smiling. Shane holds up the can, so they must be talking about that. Smiles grow.

Annie squeezes Adam’s shoulder again. Job very well done.

It’s not until the weekend that Adam finds out what treats were being made in foods class with the apples. Adam’s biked over to Annie’s to they can work on English homework together. She ushers him into the kitchen, reaching into the refrigerator for a covered tray of sorts.

She gently lifts the cloth covering the tray to reveal small apple roses. He’s seen internet things about them. Placing thin slices of apple onto a strip of pie crust and gently rolling it into a little rosette and baking it in a muffin tin.

These aren’t the ones from school. But they were easy enough to make, so she made some more for her parents and for home in general. …and for him, if he would like to try one. He nods.

A couple of apple roses go into the oven to heat up a little bit. As they bake, Annie opens the pantry to take something else out. One of the first things they’d made in food class was pretzels. The recipe was really good, and it’s something she knows he’d like.

They’re in Tupperware this time, and she pushes it towards him, telling him to open it. Which he does.

It’s shaky from the Tupperware being jostled, and some of the letters are a little misshapen and burnt from baking, but he can clearly read SADIE HAWKINS DANCE? in the soft pastries set before him.

He looks up at her as she explains that she tried to roll the dough thin enough so the letters were readable, but that threw the baking time off, so they’re probably not as good as they COULD be, but—

Yes.

She looks up at him speaking. Pauses. His answer registers. She smiles.

**Author's Note:**

> feedback welcome and appreciated.


End file.
